Of course, she set the damn thing off.
They stepped back and pulled out their weapons.
Shit. She’d wondered if this was going to be an issue.
Taryn raised her hands. “I have a cybernetic arm.” She kept her voice calm while she wiggled the fingers of her right hand. “See?”
“Take off your jacket.”
She moved slowly, every cell in her body aware of the weapons trained on her. She pulled the jacket off her right arm first and made a show of demonstrating it was metal. She reached over and slowly tugged the jacket off her left arm.
Security snatched it out of her hands and subjected it to yet another scan.
When it came through clear, one guard—her visitor from last night, Taryn was surprised to see—holstered her weapon and stepped close. She waved a wand over Taryn’s arm and the rest of her while her comrades kept their weapons out.
Taryn wasn’t sure what they scanned for, but the results came up green.
“You’re clear,” the guard said.
Security slowly put their weapons away, although a few rested their hands on them. Not her fault that they didn’t realize the real danger of her arm was in pure strength. Taryn didn’t expect to use it. She probably wouldn’t leave this building if she did.
“Let her through,” the receptionist said. The security guards obeyed and ushered her into a black-doored elevator.
“Thank you.” Taryn slipped her jacket back on.
One of the guards rode up with her. He kept slipping sideways glances at her, but she ignored him and focused on the task at hand.
The elevator doors opened to a grand view and a stylish but cold office. Her breath caught. Even as a little girl with a family, she’d known that there was no way she would make it into the hallowed halls of one of the corporations. Living on the streets, those odds had been even slimmer.
And yet here she was.
Taryn might not be running the place—something she didn’t want, anyway—but she’d made it into the corporate offices. She was as close to an equal as anyone not corporate born probably ever got. It may be small, but she ran her own empire too.
The admin looked up with a curious expression. “Yes?”
“Ms. Tremaine’s appointment is here,” Taryn’s escort said.
“Of course. Please take a seat. She’ll be with you momentarily.” This one didn’t look nearly as concerned as the woman at the entrance. Maybe they’d called to warn her. Maybe she just didn’t care.
Taryn sank into a soft chair along the wall.
She didn’t have to wait long. The big glass doors swung open. At the same time, the admin said, “You may go in.”
Taryn stood smoothly and nodded her thanks to the receptionist. She pivoted to enter the room.
This time she didn’t have an escort.
Portia Tremaine’s office was immense. Stunning views of the city dominated the room. It was an office created to intimidate. One that allowed its owner to survey her kingdom.
Taryn was impressed, but not intimidated. Not by the office. Not by the view. And not by the cool blonde who sat behind a giant desk.
Without waiting for an invitation, Taryn took the seat opposite Portia and her big desk. The visitor’s chair was lower than the desk to unsettle the supplicant.
Taryn bit back a smile. She was pleasantly surprised that she could identify all the tricks that a corporate CEO used. The old Jack could burn in hell, but he’d schooled her well in intimidation tactics.
Ignoring the other desk in the room, the one she assumed Ash had used, she settled into her chair. Arms stretched along the back and one leg crossed over the other, she was the picture of comfort.
“You’re a long way from your little bar.” Portia spoke without looking up from her computer.
